You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

It is all a learning experience, but you have to be careful, especially when dealing with higher end vehicles.

My father runs a small shop in downtown toronto (College and Ossington). It's called Mauricio's Auto Repair. If you want more details, PM me.

I've heard about that shop. It was one of the recommended shops when I was looking for a mechanic few months ago. Who knows, may be my car will cross paths with him one day! Well, my car still has that shimmy problem that I need identified, so who knows.

you probably got shitty pads installed when you did the rotors. thats the problem. pad deposits.

get a proper pad in there and bed them in nicely and youll be fine.

Thank you for the reply. Are you referring to the shimmy problem? I am not liking my new rotors to be honest, because the brakes pulsate when I brake hard. But I don't want to keep going back and forth on the same issues, spending money, and getting nowhere. I am just going to live with it.

Back home we have a saying that says, "The saddest of things can be the funniest of things."

The original shimmy was due to few factors, and it mostly went away when Rocco installed new thrust arms last week. There is still shimmy at 120km/h which has not been identified yet. But I am going to wait a while until the bushings on the thrust arms get less stiff as they are still new.

There is also a slight wobble at low speeds (below 30km/h), but I don't know what's causing that. It could't be my rims and/or my new tires. Who knows. I am just tired of going to mechanics without a definite answer.

The violent shaking came after the first mechanic installed new rotors and tires. I don't know what caused it, and I still have no clue what was the cause. The shake was very violent and it felt like it came from the centre of the car. But I don't understand why would the car shakes violently after installing new rotors and tires! And I still wonder if that violent shaking has anything to do with the shimmy at 120km/h.

Can't go wrong with RMP. Trust me. Been to dealers, so called local BMW specialists over the years and keep going back to RMP. I am sure there are some other well recommended places on this forum. Listen to the guys and girls on the forums. We are passionate about our cars different than the guys that just lease a new one every 3-4 years and never worry as they are always under warranttee. I'm an hour away from RMP and it's worth the drive.

Well even with your problems solved, I hope you didn't go back to running 87 octane fuel in your car...

No, I am still using Shell's V-Power.

But to be honest with you, I run my car on regular gas from Petro for 2 months and it ran just fine. I am not recommending it, but I doubt it's a huge issue as people make it to be. I heard from a couple of people who own older BMWs that they have been running regular gas for years and the cars run just fine. May be not the best performance option, but I doubt regular gas will break the engine. But again, I am no mechanic or expert on the topic.

I want to say that the posting was not a review. If it was a review then I would’ve mentioned the shop’s name or the mechanic’s. It was just a posting about my first mechanic experience, which sadly wasn’t very good.

The mechanic was very nice, very pleasant to deal with, very respectful, very approachable and friendly; to be honest, he treated me more of a friend than a customer. But I was looking for a mechanic to fix my car, so knowledge and diligence were my first priority. I still have the highest respect for him as a person—my posting was not a personal attack against his person.

I don’t believe any of the problems caused by him (such as misdiagnoses, replacing wrong part, wrong advice) were intentional because I believe he is an honest person. But honesty should come hand-in-hand with competence.

Some of the misdiagnoses were plain dangerous. For example, when he had me believe my car was shutting down due to the fuel type I was using, I kept driving the car hoping that everything will be fine once the new premium fuel will clean the system. I remember one time I was trying to make a left-turn and the car just didn’t go, so I ended up in the middle of the incoming traffic! Of course, all the while the problem was a vacuum-leak which was fixed at RMP Motors within 5 minutes!

But good intentions are not good enough when making mistakes in business—you have to be ready to pay for your mistakes. If a dentist accidently broke your tooth, do you think you should pay for the $800 extraction plus bone graft, $2,200 implant, $350 abutment, and $1,500 crown?! Yes, it was unintentional but it’s not your fault—it’s his and he should still be responsible for the expenses. When I take my car to the mechanic I am putting my trust in his knowledge. I am not a mechanic so when I make a decision it will be based on his knowledge, his words and recommendations.

A lot of people asked why I won’t mention the mechanic’s name or shop. There are many reasons but I won’t get into them as they are related to my faith. However, here is a reason most would appreciate.

In statistics, to draw a trend about a population one must have a random sample. The more units in the sample there are, the more accurate the results will be. However, generally a minimum of 20 units is required to draw any “accurate” results (it also depends on how many units there are in the population).

My experience with that mechanic was just one unit. It’s inaccurate to draw conclusion about the mechanic or shop from my experience only. The reason others have recommended him is that they were satisfied with his work. Initially, I was satisfied with his work too and recommended him, but, to me, the overall experience is bad. Bad not as in he was a bad person, or difficult to deal with. Bad as in he misdiagnosed two problems that cost me $700 and a lot of time and worry. I would’ve been much happier if he just said, “Sorry, I really don’t know what’s going on. And I have no solution to these problems.”

He did some good work on my car such as fixing leaks, and he did give me a good price. But I still ended up losing $700. But doing good work is not doing a favour to me: I needed him to fix my car, and he needed to make money. It’s a business relationship-- we simply traded my money for his work. I didn’t do him favours, and he didn’t do me favours—it’s his job to fix my car, and I have to pay him for it. But it’s not my responsibility to pay him for making mistakes. So I don’t think I should just forget about his costly mistakes because he did some good work—it’s his job to fix the car properly, just as it is my job to do proper mechanical design—but I would mention it when he does a lousy job because he is not supposed to.

Thank you for the reply. Are you referring to the shimmy problem? I am not liking my new rotors to be honest, because the brakes pulsate when I brake hard. But I don't want to keep going back and forth on the same issues, spending money, and getting nowhere. I am just going to live with it.

Im refering to the pulsating from braking ... Its likely from the shitty brake pads leaving deposits on the rotor. buy a better pad and give it a proper bedding procedure.

But to be honest with you, I run my car on regular gas from Petro for 2 months and it ran just fine. I am not recommending it, but I doubt it's a huge issue as people make it to be. I heard from a couple of people who own older BMWs that they have been running regular gas for years and the cars run just fine. May be not the best performance option, but I doubt regular gas will break the engine. But again, I am no mechanic or expert on the topic.

GOD LORD, please sell it. The reason your car runs "fine" on 87 is because the knock sensors are still working and retarding the timing. I bet your car pings like a mother%&**er.

The timing of the motor is meant to ignite gas at a certain temperature+compression conditions, hence 87 98 and 94. 87 fuel ignites at different conditions... hence why you HAVE TO USE 89 or HIGHER. Simple. Higher octane has nothing to do with performance, its TIMING SETTINGS. If a car is ment for 87 , you use 87, if it needs premium, it needs it, you will NOT get better performance from 94 in a 87 tuned motor, you risk messing it up, same going for using 87 in a premium requirement car. Only in Canada and the US do we have the retard bronze silver gold system as if 94 is better then 87...anyways. In europe its colour coded and makes some sense, without the illusion of "better " gas.

A lot of people asked why I won’t mention the mechanic’s name or shop. There are many reasons but I won’t get into them as they are related to my faith. However, here is a reason most would appreciate.

In statistics, to draw a trend about a population one must have a random sample. The more units in the sample there are, the more accurate the results will be. However, generally a minimum of 20 units is required to draw any “accurate” results (it also depends on how many units there are in the population).

My experience with that mechanic was just one unit. It’s inaccurate to draw conclusion about the mechanic or shop from my experience only. The reason others have recommended him is that they were satisfied with his work. Initially, I was satisfied with his work too and recommended him, but, to me, the overall experience is bad. Bad not as in he was a bad person, or difficult to deal with. Bad as in he misdiagnosed two problems that cost me $700 and a lot of time and worry. I would’ve been much happier if he just said, “Sorry, I really don’t know what’s going on. And I have no solution to these problems.”

He did some good work on my car such as fixing leaks, and he did give me a good price. But I still ended up losing $700. But doing good work is not doing a favour to me: I needed him to fix my car, and he needed to make money. It’s a business relationship-- we simply traded my money for his work. I didn’t do him favours, and he didn’t do me favours—it’s his job to fix my car, and I have to pay him for it. But it’s not my responsibility to pay him for making mistakes. So I don’t think I should just forget about his costly mistakes because he did some good work—it’s his job to fix the car properly, just as it is my job to do proper mechanical design—but I would mention it when he does a lousy job because he is not supposed to.

what exactly were your intentions?

you pretty much gave clues to the maxbimmer members on to which mechanic it is. You also repeatedly mentioned his incompetence He asked, “How hard are you braking?” I answered, “I don’t know, normal braking. Hard when I need to, and not too hard when I don’t need to.” And do you know what he said? He said, “It’s normal for all cars to shut down under heavy braking”!!! O_o Can you imagine a major car company designing a car that shuts down under heavy braking? How can such a design idea even pass safety regulations? Oh, I am on the highway and I am trying to avoid an accident by braking and steering way, but you know the engine shuts down—by design!

Which faith allows you to walk across the path of righteousness and blasphemy?.. having intentions which arnt well willed but yet, reassure your self that your intentions are. Re-think the way you think about religion and free your mind...

ask your pastor, Imam, father etc. about this situation and what your doing is not right.

You need to learn how to use the MULTI QUOTE feature! It is the little box beside QUOTE with the "+ sign... that way you can reply to all messages at once!

Glad to hear you're on the V-Power... Petro sux!

Thanks a lot for the tip.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bullet Ride

I'd like to take my car to this shop.
PM me the contact info.

Sorry. But I won't share that info. Remember, he might not be a bad mechanic. After all, my experience is just one experience. It could be that he made one too many error of judgments when it came to my car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SiR

Im refering to the pulsating from braking ... Its likely from the shitty brake pads leaving deposits on the rotor. buy a better pad and give it a proper bedding procedure.

Thanks for the tip. I will look into that after may be trying road force balance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5style

GOD LORD, please sell it. The reason your car runs "fine" on 87 is because the knock sensors are still working and retarding the timing. I bet your car pings like a mother%&**er.

The timing of the motor is meant to ignite gas at a certain temperature+compression conditions, hence 87 98 and 94. 87 fuel ignites at different conditions... hence why you HAVE TO USE 89 or HIGHER. Simple. Higher octane has nothing to do with performance, its TIMING SETTINGS. If a car is ment for 87 , you use 87, if it needs premium, it needs it, you will NOT get better performance from 94 in a 87 tuned motor, you risk messing it up, same going for using 87 in a premium requirement car. Only in Canada and the US do we have the retard bronze silver gold system as if 94 is better then 87...anyways. In europe its colour coded and makes some sense, without the illusion of "better " gas.

Thank you for the explanation. You don't have to get upset or swear. All you have to do is explain to me how it works (like you did), and I will know. I only use Shell V-Power now because I listened to the advice of the mechanics since they know better. Before someone gave me the wrong advice about that I can use regular gas and I didn't know any better so I listened to them. But after getting a better advice from mechanics, I am listening to them now. We all have to start from somewhere and none of us know it all. So simply share your knowledge and it will be appreciated.

Anyway, thank you because I learned something from you today. And my car doesn't ping--it's actually very smooth--but that's may be because I only use Shell's V-Power.

PS: That performance theory was told to me by someone--it's not my own theory.

Sorry. But I won't share that info. Remember, he might not be a bad mechanic. After all, my experience is just one experience. It could be that he made one too many error of judgments when it came to my car.

I said to private message me the contact info of the shop because I want to take my car there....

So you don't want people to go to this shop? Or you do?
Make up your mind.